Chapter Text
“I told you there was weird shit going on at that airbase, they made a giant fucking mutant baby!” Phil shouts.
“Run!” Lilly screams from beside him. Phil weaves in and out of rows of seats, trying to run as fast as possible from the creature chasing them. He ends up ducking under a row of seats, with Susie and Lilly just a few feet away from him. Phil watches in horror as he sees Susie desperately grab for Lilly’s hand, only to be interrupted by the terrifying screech of the baby hovering above her. It pauses for half a second, before lunging forward and taking a bite out of the poor girl’s arm. Phil lets out an agonizing scream.
“Susie!” He cries. He’s verging on hysterical when Teddy grabs him by the collar and drags him over to his hiding spot, covering the taller boy’s mouth with his hand. Phil crumples into a helpless ball on the ground, shaking so hard he can barely breathe. Teddy is pressed tightly against him, still covering his mouth. Teddy whimpers as he hears the baby screech somewhere nearby.
“Phil… we have to go… now.” Phil looks at Teddy, but Teddy can tell he isn’t really looking at him.
“No…we need to get Susie,” Teddy sucks in a breath.
“Phil… she’s not… she’s…” Teddy doesn’t finish, he can see the agony behind Phil’s eyes.
“NO! SHUT UP! You don’t know! You didn’t see!” Teddy can see the tears well up in Phil’s eyes, even in the dark. Shit. He’s not going to leave on his own. He glances past the pillar. Ok. Ok. The door isn’t too far far away… he can…Jesus. Teddy slips one arm underneath the other boy’s knees and the other under his armpits, and lifts. He winces as he takes Phil’s weight in his arms. Phil is still in shock, seeing as he doesn’t break free.
“Ok…fuck… here we go,” Teddy limps towards the door, now seeing a terrified Ronnie in the window. He hears glass shatter and Ronnie click the lock open. As soon as Phil and Teddy get through the door, Ronnie slides the hammer she was holding between its handles, locking the thing in the theater.
“Where’s Lilly?” Ronnie cries. Teddy takes a breath.
“I don’t… I don’t think she made it.” He says it almost as a whisper, careful so that Phil won’t overhear. He’s not sure that Phil can take any more grief. A loud banging on the theater door interrupts Teddy from his thoughts.
“Somebody let me in please!” Teddy and Ronnie run towards the door.
“Lils? Is that you?” Ronnie whispers, voice, thick with tears.
“Help!…Someone please,” Lilly sobs, “it’s coming for me,”
“Wait! Ronnie don’t open the door!”
“Why not? She’s going to die in there!”
“ What if it’s not her? What if that thing is tricking us? like it did with matty!” Ronnie hesitates. The air goes still.
“ how- how do we know?” Ronnie stammers. A screech interrupts the quiet as the mutant baby rears its ugly head above the theater seats. “It’s her! It’s her! We have to open the door!” Ronnie yelps, sliding the hammer out of the door handle.
“Don’t do it!” Teddy screams, but Lilly is already through the door, trapping Ronnie in a tight embrace.
“I thought I’d lost you,” Ronnie whispers through muffled sobs. when they finally let go of each other, and Ronnie slides the hammer back between the door handles, Phil looks up and notices something in Lilly’s grasp, and almost chokes. It’s Susie‘s dismembered hand. Phil freezes for a second, then he absolutely loses it.